Liquid Stone Libations is a breathing-prayer-ritual in sound, image, text, object and light. An interactive installation with projected film, residency-specific composed music, paint-printed fabrics, riso print collages, found artefacts and an immersive VR- component. Connecting in Cosenza, the team began writing and creating a cross-dimensional and sea- crossing “Traveler’s Tale” in reaction to and inspired by human migrations – physical, cultural, and spiritual – as well as in seeking continued connections with ancient travelers lost at sea.
Historical and technical information from underwater archaeologist Michele Stefanile and divers/underwater- filmmakers Matteo Collina and Antonio Lagudi informed Marque Gilmore’s music compositions, a new film work and storyline created collectively by the team and filmed in Cosenza and surrounding areas (including the underwater sequences) plus texts imbued by the residency experience to support the film and the stories to be shared within the exhibition space.
In meeting Ibrahima Ley, one of the “migrants” from Rivoluzione delle Seppie during the residency in Cosenza, a new character was created for the film. It fulfilled an important ancestral through line for the story (and the storyboard). Having his blessed participation in the film helped the team to connect deeper with the larger goals of the residency and our own personal missions to connect time, cultures, people, and art.
To complement the audio/visual elements, a minimalist VR-experience was co-conceptualised and co-designed with 3D Research experts Vincenzo Cosentino and Marco Cozza that sits within the overall installation. A portal to the past via VR-technology and A/V visions of the future that also includes guiding sonics, embedded ghost-imagery and specially composed ambient soundscapes for both; reaching the bottom of the sea, and the ascension to the surface (“Water-Root- Orchestra” & “Metaphysical Function”, respectively). The complete Liquid Stone Libations installation invites the visitor deep into a world of crossed-dimensions and the ongoing search for the Living Breath.
Blessings and Buoyancy ~ Aché.
